A Camberwell fire suvivor's terror
Updated on 05 July 2009
Rasheed Nuhu and his family survived because he went on to his neighbour's 11th floor balcony in the Camberwell tower block that caught fire.
In the bathroom, they left behind five of the six victims who eventually died in the blaze.
In his first interview since his escape Rasheed Nuhu told Channel 4 News his story, his grief as the others did not make it and his surprise at how long it took the emergency services to rescue them.
Mr Nuhu said: "Obviously it's very traumatising, it's extremely traumatising and I'm still trying to come to terms with that.
"I read in the paper when survivors are saying things like 'you know I wish they could have done more to save peoples lives.' I say 'you were not the perpetrator of their death or their problem' but now I understand what those people meant when you read in the papers or hear wherever they felt really awful and they couldn't come to terms with why the couldn't do more to save the people.
"I was surprised they didn't get to us sooner then they did because of the trust you have in the British emergency services. You think they will have enough ladder to get to the 13th floor, and before you know it the ladder was sitting on the roof of the vehicle there and they were not using it. I was screaming from the 11th floor 'get the ladder, get the ladder.'"
